UK Butterflies
Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts in Britain & Ireland
Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts in Britain & Ireland
This page provides access to all named aberrations of a given species and Goodson & Read (1969) is a key resource in this regard.
Description to be completed.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk
This section contains those aberrations that are considered new, and have yet to be formally defined.
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= carnea Fritsch.Ent.Rundsch.1912.29.p.136.
= rosacea Reuss.Int.Ent.Z.1916.9.p.131.
Beautifully flushed with pink. Ab. carnea Fritsch was light brownish flesh-rose, all colouring lighter. Reuss described his rosacea as being of a beautiful pink, the colour being deepened in the area of the first costal spot to a shining red.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings entirely rosy-red, much accentuated. Hindwings very bright fulvous. Gaede in Seitz.Macrolep.1.p.199 wrongly includes this form in atalanta [Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral].
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ground colour of the upperside without any trace of rose-yellow-brown or ochreous.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ground colour of the upperside very palr reddish-yellow. From a description by Lempke.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ground colour of the upperside completely white, the markings normal.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Verity proposes that this name should be revived for the largest, brightest and most vigorous cardui. It would seem to be somewhat unnecessary but is included here for completeness.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= carduelis Schultz.(nom.preoc.Cramer).Nyt.Mag.Naturv.1906.44.p.108.
The black pattern of the upperside, especially in the apical region, of a whitish-grey.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The space between the first and second costal spots of the forewings is white. This new white spot stands out strongly from the otherwise dark colouring. The ground colour is brown, the hindwings dark dusted.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
A supplementary white spot below the row of apical ones, making six. Verity evidently counts the costal white spot as two because it is divided by a vein.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= martha-maria Stephan.Soc.Ent.1924.39.p.25.
A supplementary white spot below the row of apical ones as in ab. sexiespupillata Verity but in addition a further white spot in the fulvous area between the cabital nervures, as often seen in atalanta [Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral], making seven in all. To make seven, Verity must be counting the white costal spot as two because it is divided by a black vein. Stephan’s martha-maria had an extra little white spot below the normal ones and, in addition, a white spot in the fulvous area. This form, in atalanta, he named ab. martha.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
A white spot in the fulvous band on the upperside of the forewings as often seen in V. atalanta [Vanessa atalanta, Red Admiral].
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
A black spot in the fulvous band on the upperside of the forewings. This also occurs in conjunction with ab. sexiespupillata Verity.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The large white space on the costa of the forewings is broken up into three components.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The antemarginal round spots on the upperside of the hindwings contain blue centres.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The black apical and posterior patches joined together by a band, on the upperside of the forewings.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Hindwings with the black spots and marginal spots absent on a light uniform ochre ground. On the forewings the black is much diminished and the subapical spots are light ochre-yellow instead of white.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Hindwings with the margin spots elongated radially.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Similar to the aberration figured by Oberthür in Lep.Comp.X, it is a transition to ab. elymi Rambur. One can only describe Oberthür’s figure since Verity gives no further description himself. The hindwings lack the markings in the median area, which normally form a band, and at the apex there are two distinct rays running from the basal area out to the margin. The row of submarginal round spots and the black spots at the ends of the veins are present. Forewings normal.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the forewings the transverse band is absent, the black costal spots are still present. The large white blotch on the costa, in the black apical area, is almost absent, a small portion remaining on the costa. The submarginal row of white spots are very close to each other almost forming one long spot, somewhat suffused, with a supplementary white spot beneath it. Hindwings more or less normal but the border very wide at the costa. One of the transitional forms to ab. elymi Rambur.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the forewings the black markings forming the median band are absent, only the portion nearest the costa remaining. The large white costal spot is absent or almost so. Hindwings with the dark discal band-like markings absent but the three rows of marginal spots normal. One of the elymi forms.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the forewings the black markings forming the median band are absent between the discoidal cell and the inner margin. The large white costal blotch is reduced or obscured by black dusting. Hindwings with the discal band absent and the row of small spots or chevrons immediately preceding the black vein-ends also absent. The vein-ends remain black and the row of submarginal spots or ocelli, the main row, are still present. Lempke cites the figure in South.Brit.Butts.pl.49.f.4 as being this form. One of the elymi forms.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the forewings the discal band is absent, also the large white costal spot. Hindwings with the discal band absent or mostly so, the vein-ends well marked but the small spots or chevrons immediately in front of them are absent. The main row of submarginal spots or ocelli are represented by white ocelli instead of black. Lempke cites the figure in Frohawk’s Brit.Butts.pl.26.f.16 as this form. One of the elymi forms.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
There is much confusion over this form, many transitional examples being called and recorded as elymi. A translation from the original description reads as follows. Forewings with the external half occupied in part by a large black area which comes down as far as the posterior angle and which is cut on the margin by a band of fulvous spots. Near this band and more interiorly is another band of five white spots from the costa down as far as the middle of the wing and in this direction the rudiments of two other spots. At the internal extremity of the black area near the costa is a large black dot. Hindwings with the external part of the costa largely bordered with black, with one or two transverse bands towards the middle of the wing. Nervures black dilated at their ends. Posteriorly a transverse series of five black spots, a little ocellated. The forewings show more black than most of the transitional forms. Lempke says he has not seen any such example or figure, so that it must be extremely rare.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The figure shows the forewings with the normal transverse black band considerably increased, forming a large black median area linking up completely the three black spots i.e. the two on the inner margin and the one above them, thus forming a black triangle. This triangle is also united with the black apical area, as in ab. conjuncta Verity, and the main white spot is considerably enlarged, almost twice normal size, but the small apical ones are mostly below normal size. The hindwings are more or less normal. A most striking aberration on account of the large black triangle extending upwards from the inner margin to the centre of the wing.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Melanic form. The wings covered with grey scales above and below, only the median area of the forewings and the outer margin of the hindwings being less dusted or not dusted at all. The figure shows the pinkish parts of the forewings dark dusted to a brownish-grey except for a small area around the lowest black costal spot forming a reddish ring around it. The hindwings are dark dusted to a greyish-brown with only a hint of the normal fulvous, only on the extreme margin does the normal pinkish ground colour appear, very bright, and in striking contrast to the darkened parts. This pinkish border is cut by very prominent black vein-ends. The normal markings can be seen on both wings beneath the covering of grey scales.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Strongly melanic and more extreme than ab. wiskotti Standfuss. The first costal space very much blackened and the black extending so far over the forewings that only one patch of normal ground colour is left in the median area - the outer third of the cell and a small spot above vein 4 in the centre of the wing with two smaller ones beneath it, so that a broken fulvous transverse band is formed across the black area. The apical white spots and costal blotch are small but normal. The hindwings considerably darker than in ab. wiskotti. At the end of the cell there is a spot of normal ground and between this and the apical angle is a light streak. The margin is very narrow and has broad black flecks on the veins. The figure shows all wings blackened except for some small spots of fulvous in the centre of the forewings and the normal white costal blotch and row of apical white spots, the fulvous costal space however remains normal and prominent. The hindwings also very blackened, only three fulvous spots appearing in the upper half of the wing. The margin shows a very narrow fulvous line cut be the black vein-ends.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the upperside of the forewings the black element is strong, the black spots almost all confluent so that the fulvous area is very restricted and the little white apical spots reduced. On the hindwings there is a black veiling, the black markings are very large, the three upper submarginal ones are confluent, the fulvous space being very much reduced and veiled with black. The description would seem to be very much exaggerated especially as regards the forewings. The photograph of the type show the forewings almost normal, the fulvous being lightly dusted only in the cell at the tornus, and the black markings no more confluent than most cardui, only a very slight dusting of the veins. The hindwings would seem to be the reason for the name. These are somewhat dusted with dark scales, the usual dark markings being more or less confluent. The margins are not dusted and quite normal.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The upperside of the hindwings smoky.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Paler than typical and less than half normal size.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= minor Cannviello.(nom.preoc.Failla).Misc.Ent.1900.8.p.19.
Small dwarf forms, almost half normal size. Cannaviello’s minor was 28-30mm in the male and 30-33mm in the female.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
